You are what you eat. It’s not just an annoying idiom. It’s true according to new research published in the Journal of Diabetes Research that found certain diets can elevate mood, in diabetes.

Without being Debby-downer of the diabetes world, it’s pretty common knowledge that diabetes and depression are partners in crime. The medical literature find that the odds of finding depression among people with diabetes is twice as likely as people who don’t have diabetes.

To add insult to injury, depression can be looked at as an independent factor for developing diabetes. Rather than looking as depression as causing diabetes, it’s more of a light indicating that diabetes has been present for a while and only after treatment for depression is diabetes discovered and diagnosed.

In doing the correlation between diabetes diet and the suggested diet for people with depression, it’s uncanny how similar and effective they are in both conditions. Specific secondary complications of diabetes such as kidney and heart disease fare well on dietary guidelines for depression.

This study investigated the outcome of people who followed a diet with a range of various macronutrients. People who experience metabolic syndrome are suggested to follow a Mediterranean diet. The reason this study had credence is due to the fact that fruits, vegetables, and fish are associated with warding-off depressive symptoms.

On the flip side, the Western diet is often associated with depression, as are lower fat, lower quality nutrient, and unhealthy diets.

Combine this insightful snack of a Mediterranean diet with the idea that people are generally 10-25% happier on Fridays, and you’re off to a great start for the weekend!